Video response to An Inconvenient Truth

This documentary film directed by Davis Guggenhiem about a former United States Vice President, Al Gore's campaign to educate people about global warming. 


The film is set out in a key note slide show format that shows how global warming has had an impact on the world and Gore's life. Gore travels to different places to spread awareness to the public about how severe the climate crisis has become. 


The documentary starts with Gore informally addressing an audience and beginning his slideshow with magnificent images of nature and telling the audience that these images are the somewhat the reason why people, see the earth differently. How these images are powerful enough for people to want to protect the earth and the way it is now, sparking modern environmentalism.


Gore shares a lot of anecdotes in the film one being how his interesting in environmentalism was sparked, some reasons being that he was interested in environmentalism during his college education at Harvard University, another being that his sisters death from lung cancer, and other stories. The use of anecdotes give a personal touch to his presentation showing people that climate change is a real problem and is affecting people like him or could people affecting people like us. 


As the film continues Gore discusses how climate change is no longer just a scientific issue but a moral and political issue that should be addressed. He also includes segments in his documentary about how people seem to thing that global warming is a unproven theory and that it is seemingly an insignificant issue in our society, however with the collapsing ice sheets in antarctica and the rising levels in CO2 its is predominant issue that involves the whole world. He concludes that action needs to be taken to prevent the global warming and suggests different ways to revoke the damage that we have already caused to the globe.  


Gore concludes his presentation with a very moving speech


"Each one of us is a cause of global warming, but each one of us can make choices to change that with the things we buy, the electricity we use, the cars we drive; we can make choices to bring our individual carbon emissions to zero. The solutions are in our hands, we just have to have the determination to make it happen. We have everything that we need to reduce carbon emissions, everything but political will. But in America, the will to act is a renewable resource."


People should be taking on the problem of global warming, and as industrial designers this is one of the reasons we design recyclable and renewable products that have a cradle to cradle life in hopes to do out part to prevent global warming 

Video response to An Inconvenient Truth

This documentary film directed by Davis Guggenhiem about a former United States Vice President, Al Gore's campaign to educate people about global warming. 


The film is set out in a key note slide show format that shows how global warming has had an impact on the world and Gore's life. Gore travels to different places to spread awareness to the public about how severe the climate crisis has become. 


The documentary starts with Gore informally addressing an audience and beginning his slideshow with magnificent images of nature and telling the audience that these images are the somewhat the reason why people, see the earth differently. How these images are powerful enough for people to want to protect the earth and the way it is now, sparking modern environmentalism.


Gore shares a lot of anecdotes in the film one being how his interesting in environmentalism was sparked, some reasons being that he was interested in environmentalism during his college education at Harvard University, another being that his sisters death from lung cancer, and other stories. The use of anecdotes give a personal touch to his presentation showing people that climate change is a real problem and is affecting people like him or could people affecting people like us. 


As the film continues Gore discusses how climate change is no longer just a scientific issue but a moral and political issue that should be addressed. He also includes segments in his documentary about how people seem to thing that global warming is a unproven theory and that it is seemingly an insignificant issue in our society, however with the collapsing ice sheets in antarctica and the rising levels in CO2 its is predominant issue that involves the whole world. He concludes that action needs to be taken to prevent the global warming and suggests different ways to revoke the damage that we have already caused to the globe.  


Gore concludes his presentation with a very moving speech


"Each one of us is a cause of global warming, but each one of us can make choices to change that with the things we buy, the electricity we use, the cars we drive; we can make choices to bring our individual carbon emissions to zero. The solutions are in our hands, we just have to have the determination to make it happen. We have everything that we need to reduce carbon emissions, everything but political will. But in America, the will to act is a renewable resource."


People should be taking on the problem of global warming, and as industrial designers this is one of the reasons we design recyclable and renewable products that have a cradle to cradle life in hopes to do out part to prevent global warming 

REUPLOAD - Design Confusion Poster

Upcycled Usability

GEO lamp – Upcycling Usability

The GEO lamp was inspired by using geometric shapes to create a rounded form. The idea of this project was to create a second life for the posters that have been used by JCDecaux. In essence the project called for a high end, flat packable light that can minimize the amount of wastage of the material.

Through different experiments and changes in design I was able to come up with this final design for the GEO lamp. The material itself is very durable and possesses plastic and paper like qualities. The way that the GEO lamp is fastening utilises this property of the material. The strength from the material attaching onto itself is what gives the GEO lamp its shape and form. The cut outs that are inside each piece of the light also compliment the planes that the original pentagons and hexagons possess.

Overall the GEO does have a high percentage of wastage, which is one of the downfalls of this lamp. However it is due to limitations of the material that the design was chosen like this. The material does not allow much light to be diffused through which would essentially mean only dim light can be seen. So through the cut outs light can be let out and easily seen

Peer  Comments

Ginny Kwok

http://ginnykwok.blogspot.com/2011/10/glamour-hanging-light-upcycled.html?showComment=1318910494416#c4113681600271022243

Raymond Tinyow

http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5926462513440034618&postID=3235386318547221543&page=1&token=1318910666574&isPopup=true

Oskar Carabez

http://ocarabezides1031.blogspot.com/2011/10/upcyclced-utility.html?showComment=1318945051834#c5016437457486454446

Ghina Ali

http://ghinaali.blogspot.com/2011/10/hero-shot.html?showComment=1318944417276#c1006775629971387926

Kevin Peng

http://kevinpeng3373311.blogspot.com/2011/10/blossom-light-shade.html?showComment=1318944795264#c765044747555443203

What is design?

Bill Moggridge – What is Design?

Bill Moggridge states that everything that is not naturally formed and has been altered or changed by man, is designed. In his talk about “ What is Design” he outlines and describes the design process, design styles/genres their target markets and etc.

Moggridge begins his talk by describing what is good and bad design listing different designs and iconic products that have won international awards and recognition. He specifically talks about how designs that have been targeted for people with disabilities/difficulties are usually well designed for that market but are also well designed for people without disadvantages and disabilities. The company that was used to illustrate this idea, was the hand tool company called “Smart Design” their designs are made for people with arthritic hands and disabilities but turns out they are well designed for everyday people to use too.

A clip of Michelle Obama is shown to highlight  the importance of educating students about design. She discusses how children in America haven’t been shown their (America’s) rich cultural life, and stresses that the wants to open up new opportunities for children to come into contact with their cultural lifestyle and enter into the culture of design and understand how it surrounds their lifestyles. Which further iterates the importance of design in our lifstyles.

Moggridge moves on to show designs of Architecture, Industrial design, Multi media design. In these examples he informs us of the differences between good and bad design. Some designs and designers that were listed included,

• ·      Frank Lloyd Wright, designing the Guggenheim Museum
• ·      Frank Gehry and his interpretation of the Guggenheim Musueum
• ·      Charles and Ray Eames and their “Lounge Chair”

He then brings up a very peculiar bad design, “I Mode” which is part of the early Japanese internet mobile platform. Though this design had many users the extent of using this particular platform for a suggested use has been poorly designed. A clip of a Japanese woman buying a drink from a vending machine by her mobile phone, illustrates how difficult and complex this process is. Moggridge explains that the lack of prototyping and testing of a product in real time situations could lead the design into being effect or ineffective.

Moggridge talks about the process of design. You begin by understanding people, when you have an aim to design for other people, of various ages, ethnicity, gender or occupation. The process of design is to find out what the target market needs.

• ·      Observation, by watching people to find out what they do
• ·      Asking, engaging and conversing with people to find out what their needs are
• ·      Trying, by experimenting with people to get a grasp of their needs

Moggridge explains that prototyping can be done by making both physical and virtual designs and these come about in three stages: inspiration, evolution and validation. He explains that making models and virtual platforms can do prototyping but it can also be anything that allows you to communicate your ideas and intention for your project effectively and literally during the stages of your project.

Moggridge also explains expanding concepts of design and how design is mainly in three categories,

• ·      Personal, expanding personal ideas into design to incorporate their designs in light of health or interests.
• ·      Social, expanding design into social activities and how there are connected to different ideas of design
• ·      Environmental, expanding design so they are more eco friendly, and sustainable

Bill Moggridge’s video is very enlightening as it shows and explains how there are different aspects of the design process and design thinking that can change and influence how a designer forms their ideas. It shows that by understanding your target market and using different models and prototypes and testing a design can be pushed to its maximum potential. This video really enriched my ideas and thoughts as a budding designer and made me realise and understand that a design is a designer’s “statement” to what their personal, social, environmental factors has posed on them 

Peer Comments

Vivian Ngo, 


http://vindustriald.blogspot.com/2011/09/studio-1-project-1.html?showComment=1317038262827#c6484994763355656187


Dominic See 


http://dominicsee.blogspot.com/2011/09/habu-kitchen-knife.html?showComment=1317038421721#c8866112516407707657


Zhang, Xiao Ya


http://2011jj.blogspot.com/2011/09/project-one-experience-enrichment.html?showComment=1317038627848#c9048951717813511763


Oskcar Carabez 


http://ocarabezides1031.blogspot.com/2011/09/project-1.html?showComment=1317038976562#c2950686734443749943


Christine Liang 


http://mad-attic.blogspot.com/2011/09/experience-enrichment-project-motar-and.html?showComment=1317039407814#c5994436037358187802

Product Redesign

Swallow  - Rationale.

Swallow is an ergonomic hand tool, which is used to score fruit peel, mainly for fruits with a tougher skin i.e., oranges, grapefruit, lemon. This hand tool is redesigned from less commonly know “ring peel scorer”.

The redesign of something that is less commonly used around the kitchen its to help create a better possibility of control when scoring peels. The actual product is made from food safe bamboo much similar to the materials used in chopping boards. The curves are streamlined and curved to fit into the palm of the user with an “inviting” hilt for the thumb to rest on. With a high gloss finish on the material it creates a “glinting” and appealing form to the eye and hand, the thumb rest which allows for more than one finger to pass through also allow for various ways of holding and scoring to adapt into your accustomed position.

The rear of the tool is used to pry off the peel from the flesh of the orange/grapefruit, the end of the tool is almost like a wedge making it easy to use the tool to push into the fruit to take off the skin. The thumb rest in conjunction acts as a secondary grip, which allows for more control and steering force.

The streamline shape of the scorer mimics the likeness of a bird with the detailing in the thumb rest becoming an aesthetic of the product. This takes likeness to a birds face with the eyes and beak hence the name of the product “swallow” which is a bird and also an action of eating.

The Swallow is a successful redesign of the less commonly known fruit peel scorer, which many people have ceased to use. This experience has been heightened and increased in pleasure as allows the user to have more control, enjoy the “fun” aspect of the product and overall bring an added desire to an uncommon object.